Senate GOP mulls new debt strategy — Trying to get out of the political box which they have helped to create, Senate Republicans are actively discussing a new plan under which the debt ceiling would grow in three increments over the remainder of this Congress unless lawmakers approve a veto proof resolution of disapproval.

EXCLUSIVE: McConnell to Obama: Eat your own darn peas — At 2 p.m. today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) is going to make some news. Right Turn has learned from sources familiar with McConnell's thinking that McConnell is going to suggest an alternative to President Obama's “grand bargain.”

Boehner Says The Debt Limit Increase Is Obama's Problem — Speaker of the House John Boehner introduced a new argument to the debt ceiling and deficit reduction talks Tuesday, saying raising the borrowing limit is Republicans' concession in the negotiations. — “This debt limit increase is [Obama's] problem,” he said.

Republicans Introduce Plan, Go On Offensive — The debt ceiling debate continues. — Senate Republicans mounted a bold offensive today against President Obama's effort to force them to accept a tax hike as part of a bipartisan agreement to raise the debt limit.

Fresh doubt cast on Obama's health care story — During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama often discussed his mother's struggle with cancer. Ann Dunham spent the months before her death in 1995, Obama said, fighting with insurance companies that sought to deny her the coverage she needed to pay for treatment.

Ron Paul won't seek congressional term in 2012 — LAKE JACKSON — After serving almost 24 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Ron Paul told The Facts this morning he will not be seeking another term for the District 14 seat. — Paul, 75, will instead focus on his quest for the presidency in 2012.

Wonkbook: Why liberals should thank Eric Cantor — (KAREN BLEIER - AFP/GETTY IMAGES) I knew the White House wanted a compromise on the debt ceiling. I just didn't expect them to do quite so much, well, compromising. — Here's what appears to have been in the $4 trillion deal they offered …

The CIA's Secret Sites in Somalia — Nestled in a back corner of Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport is a sprawling walled compound run by the Central Intelligence Agency. Set on the coast of the Indian Ocean, the facility looks like a small gated community, with more than a dozen …

Police reports show different side of Michele Bachmann — From complaining about her house being egged to filing a report that she was being held “against my will” in a public restroom, Michele Bachmann has left a trail of police reports showing a seldom-seen side of a presidential candidate.

Proud Of Being Ignorant — This is the dumbest story ever written in all of human history. … Note that this was under “Politics and Policy.” It's as if the purveyors of Beltway-ism and fen-fen joined forces and hatched a diabolical plot. — Adam expounds: … The worst part is there no actual hypocrisy.

N.Y. clerk quits over gay marriage — A rural New York town clerk has resigned her post rather than grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. — “I would be compromising my moral conscience by participating in licensing same-sex couples,” Laura Fotusky, the clerk of the Town of Barker, told POLITICO.

Blow against O in Weiner race — In “a shot across President Obama's bow,” Democratic former Mayor Ed Koch yesterday urged voters in Queens and Brooklyn to make “history” by voting for the Republican candidate to replace randy ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner in the Sept. 13 special election …

Big government is not way to stronger economy — The engines of a thriving economy can be stalled by politics and bad government policy. Incentives for innovation can be ignored — until innovators and job creators move elsewhere. — Today, when any job can go anywhere, they may not come back.